Monday, March 4, 2013

God Blessed Our Twisted, Pot-hole Filled Road

The start of my relationship with my husband wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, my first sight of him was a quick glimpse of his back as he walked away from me across a crowded room.

We were at my office open house (anyone read “Savin’ Me”… is this sounding familiar?)… I was a new employee and they’d just moved into a new space. Turns out, our office was known for throwing massive parties (we didn’t need much of an excuse and the Christmas parties were legendary. Another time, I’ll tell you about one that almost ended up with me divorced, before we even got married!) Anyway, the grand opening of the new office space was the perfect reason to have a party. I’d just started work the week before, he’d just moved back to town the week before, so there we were… but we didn’t meet that day.

I was the ad agency’s receptionist, and I worked with his sister. He’s a huge practical jokester, so for the next two months, whenever he called to speak with her, I got hit with a joke, we’d talk for a few minutes, and then I’d pass him off to her.

One Friday afternoon, I answered the phone, we spoke for a few minutes, and then I said, “Hang on just a sec.”

He said, “Why you puttin’ me on hold?”

“Because that’s the only way I can transfer the phone to your sister.”

I’ll never forget the next words, said in his smooth, eastern North Carolina drawl, “I didn’t call to talk to her. I called to talk to you.”

I’d been standing because I’d grabbed the phone on the run, so I lowered myself into my chair and held my breath.

He said, “I have two tickets for the football game tomorrow, you wanna go?”

At this point, I was all kinds of conflicted. I said, “My co-worker just invited me to go with him and his girlfriend, and it sounds like so much fun, but I don’t have a babysitter.” (Dusty was five) There were a few other reasons I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but I won’t go into those now.

He said, “I can do better than him. If I find a sitter, will you go?”

Fifteen minutes later, he called back to see if I wanted the babysitter at his house or mine! :D I should probably let you know that later, he told me I wasn’t his first choice. His first choice had to work, so I was his second (and only) option. He didn’t want to go to the game without a date, so he was highly motivated! LOL

Since I’d just moved to town and didn’t have any furniture, we settled on his house. Correctly assuming that a fridge full of beer and leftover pizza wouldn’t be suitable for a five-year-old, Charles had us come over early so we could take Dusty to the grocery and let him pick out snacks for the day.

We left Dusty and the babysitter with enough junk food to put them into a diabetic coma, and headed off for the game. The game was great… in the beginning. But as Charles continued to work his way through airplane bottle after airplane bottle after airplane bottle, the afternoon took a turn for the worse. At least as far as I was concerned.

By the time the game was over, he was sloshed. I was annoyed.

I drove us back to his house with every intention of grabbing my kid and running for the hills. But the next thing I knew, Charles and his roommates had Dusty in the backyard, innings deep into an epic whiffle ball game. He was so sweet and amazing with my kid, I couldn’t help but melt.

At least enough for him to talk me into staying for dinner.

Hey, he offered to grill steaks!

As he sobered, the evening improved, but there were still times I found myself shaking my head and thinking, “This guy is so full of shit, no wonder his eyes are brown.”

When it came time for me to leave, he invited me to go downtown the following day to the United Way Fundraiser Kick-off. His friend was playing a concert in the park and he thought it would be something fun we could do with Dusty.

Not anxious to repeat this crazy up and down date, I fumbled for a good excuse. Finally, I remembered... “Oh, gosh. I wish I could, but I have laundry to do!”

“No problem,” he said, “I have a washer and a dryer.”

Okay, anyone who’s ever gone to a public laundry mat knows doing laundry in the luxury of a home is sooooo much better. I debated whether or not I was willing to tolerate another lousy date, and decided it was worth the risk.

Amazingly enough, it was one of the best dates, EVER! He continued to be incredibly sweet and attentive to my son, he carried him around on his shoulders so he could see everything going on, and he stopped and got a family-friendly movie we could all watch while the laundry was finishing up.

The next evening, he showed up at my house with a package of Dusty’s favorite cookies (chocolate chip with M&M’s on top) and a rose for me. He also asked if he could take us to the go-cart track that Friday.

We didn’t talk anymore that week, but true to his word, he arrived promptly at six-thirty on Friday and Date #3 cinched the deal. Dusty and I were hooked! Since that night, we’ve been pretty much inseparable, and I’m so grateful one of the first purchases Hubs made when he bought his new house was that washer and dryer!!

Two little side notes: I don’t have a picture of them playing whiffle ball the night of our first date, but I do have a picture of them playing ball the day we got married. We had a church wedding, then everyone went home and changed into casual clothes for the pig-pickin’ reception. Dusty was anxious to play, after having been in a little suit and uncomfortable shoes for a few hours, so Charles stood out in the drive with him and played ball before he changed.



Also, since his surgery and especially since the radiation, his memory is horrible!! He can’t remember conversations he had twenty-minutes ago or whether or not he’s had lunch. BUT… he still remembers Dusty’s favorite kind of cookies, and it’s not at all uncommon for him to grab a bag for Dusty if he’s at the grocery store.

Okay, your turn. Tell me about a whacky date that turned around... or one that didn’t! LOL Did you have lots of starts and stops on your road to Happily Ever After? Are you still in the process of missing massive potholes and a few landmines, looking for the "Right One?"

There will be a new blog post every Monday, but I'm going to allow the Rafflecopter to run for the month. However, since it's running that long, I'm increasing the prize packs. I'll give away 4 digital copies of the Heat Wave Novel of your choice, as well as 2 signed print books. Remember, you can tweet and share on FB every day to enter, and there will be new postings every Monday!

Thank you for dropping by and visiting with me!! I'm back here every day to reply to comments, so check back often, especially if you have a question you're waiting to be answered. Winner from last week's contest will be announced tomorrow!!!

Wishing you much peace and love!
Alannah

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15 comments:

Eva's Flowers said...

That sounds like such an incredibly story of how how met and started dating! And your almost-divorced-before-got-married story sounds very interesting too, can't wait to hear that one!

Here's a doozy of a date for you...

I was in college maybe 2nd year, met this guy in the cafeteria, we talked quite a bit, I usually ate before leaving for work...so I told him I had to take off, he asked where my car was so he could walk me to it, uhhh no car, I take the bus...so he offered to drive me to work...how naive was I to just let some perfect stranger drive me away! Anyway, nothing happened, I gave him directions and he dropped me off, before that though, he asked for my number, so he calls later and asks if he could take me out on Fri. night, we went to a nightclub, I had no clothes for that type of thing, I took everything out of my closet and finally settled on a solid tshirt and jeans. He came to pick me up and we go to his car, there was another guy there! Again, how naive was I to just go away with these two perfectly strangers...I don't know, I did...went to the club, had one drink, danced only once I think, but we did talk, enjoying the other people around...he finally took me home, walked me to my door and kissed me, but at the last minute I turned so he kissed my cheek, it was just instinct. So that was it, but it got me to thinking not too long ago and that I remember the guy was actually a lot older, like close to 15 yrs. probably...wow...a lot of bad things could have gone wrong, and I know better now!

Kathy L. said...

That is a great story. I've had my share of frogs before meeting my prince. One story - going on a blind date. On my way there, my car broke down. My friend came and got me after the tow truck took my car. I had the guy meet me at her job. He took me to his house so he could watch a game with his roommates. Seriously! Worst date ever.

Unknown said...

I'm still kissing frogs lol. Great post Alannah. I'm glad you hung in there with DH. You sound so happy now.

Silver James said...

I love the story of you and Charles, Alannah! What a sweet HEA!

I'm like Becki. I kissed a lot of frogs before my prince arrived. We celebrate 30 years in August so it was worth the "warts." ;-)

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness! I'm a sucker for a kid story like that, you've got me cryin'. Good for you, finding one of the good ones!

So, here's my story, which is not nearly as good. I'll tell you about the first ACTUAL date between me and my husband. The winter had already been horrible (more than a foot of snow dropped the week before our first date, when I had to ride home with him and his mom from his brother's wedding), and we had another 4 inches and crappy roads. I was not about to let my Dad control whether or not I was leaving, so I made plans to just hang out with Kyle and watch a movie at his house. Of course, my Dad was a little concerned about that, so decided to give me a ride - how embarrassing!?!? I was 19 mind you, no reason I should be chaperoned around, but for piece of mind I let him give me a ride over. Probably the most awkward conversation ever, during which the quote "If you ever find yourself stuck in a ditch somewhere, don't get out of the vehicle, and for God's sake, don't be easy!". Yes, this was my father's advice to me. Moving on, Kyle and I were thoroughly enthralled in "Cars" (great date choice, right?) when I get a phone call from one of the girls I regularly babysat for. She had scheduled me for that night, but when I hadn't heard from her by 7, I assumed she no longer needed me. Guilt trips ensued, and I gave in, telling her I would be there by her bar-going time of 9 p.m. So, our already awkward first date ended in Kyle driving me to a babysitting job, and texting me the rest of the night. He still give me grief that I ditched him for a 4 year old our first date.

Lisa W said...

Oh-- that's so sweet!

My hubby was a blind date that I avoided forever! Finally got tricked into meeting him and somehow it's worked out!

Lisa

Unknown said...

Holy shit, Eva! You had so many angels looking out for you that night!!! :D But you know, I will say, things were different then. There's not that much age difference between you and I, so I do understand how you could've been so trusting.

Not saying that crazy people haven't always existed, but I think in general, we were a more trusting society then. I'm glad it all worked out okay for you!! Now... don't ever let that precious neice of yours do anything that crazy!! LOL

Unknown said...

Kathy - I wonder how many blind dates fall under the "worst date ever" category. I not all do, someone just shared their story with me recently - blind date that is now going on 40 years of marriage. But I bet the percentages are much higher the other way. LOL

Unknown said...

Becki - I had a lot of frogs along the way too... remember, this is my second marriage! LOL But I definitely got the prince this time around! :-)

Unknown said...

Silver - Congrats on 30 years!!! I've heard about one of those "misses", and I don't know that I'd say ALL were warts! LMAO Just sayin'!

Unknown said...

Crystal - OMG! Your dad's advice is hilarious!! Your dad would've freaked if you'd ended up in a ditch with Kyle while he was taking you to the babysitting job! LOL I'm glad it all worked out!

Unknown said...

Oh, look! Lisa is another blind-dte-gone-good story! We should keep an unoffical poll and see how many work out as opposed to how many really, REALLY don't! LOL

I'm glad it worked out for you guys, Lisa. You must've just needed the right timing. :-)

Sue G. said...

Your hubby sounds wonderful!

I met my hubby, Dave, when I was 17. The first time I met him, through a guy I worked with, all the two of them talked about was some party they went to (they were both 18 and legally could drink) and how drunk they got.

I kept thinking what idiots they were.

One month later work friend calls and asks me to go canoeing. I say yes. He picks me up with his girlfriend in the car. I think this is strange. We drive 10 minutes, pull into a development and friend tells me that I am going to be Dave's date. I was ready to kill him.

Well we had a blast and started dating. Seven years later (after college) we got married and in May will be married for 24 years!

Who knew?

Unknown said...

Sue - So you're most awkward date (from the Plotmonkeys) was also the best worst date ever (as I call my first date with Hubs). :-D

Isn't it funny how things work out!

Hey... speaking of Plotmonkeys... I'm going to email you tonight. You won the drawing I did there too!!! You should buy a lottery ticket. Quick! :D

Sue G. said...

Thank you so much for picking me! I finally have a free night tonight to start reading! It has been a crazy hectic week.

Have a great weekend!